Fruitful Prayer

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:1-2 (NKJV)

Charles Spurgeon started preaching when he was just fifteen. At sixteen, he pastored a small church in Cambridge. The church quickly grew to over four hundred people. At the age of nineteen, he moved to London to become the pastor of London's New Park Street Chapel. The church rapidly grew from a few hundred to a few thousand. In 1861, the Metropolitan Tabernacle was built, seating more than five thousand. Spurgeon, “the prince of preachers,” preached the simple message of the cross that had so profoundly impacted his own life when he was fifteen.

This simple message attracted thousands to his sermons, hungry to hear God’s Word proclaimed in the power of Holy Spirit. He never complicated or embellished his sermons. While his sermons were full of humour, they were clear and coherent. They transformed hearts and minds. This is what J.C. Ryle says about his sermons, “How thoroughly he brings before you certain great truths, that hang to you like hooks of steel, and which, once planted in your memory, you never forget!"

Spurgeon had a powerful voice that resonated through the auditorium, yet it had a tender warmth that came from spending time with his Heavenly Father. Spurgeon taught the importance of beginning the morning with prayer before facing the world and remaining in an attitude of prayer throughout the day. An attitude of abiding in Christ.

Fruitful Prayer

Spurgeon believed that we, as believers, ought to abide in Christ, the true vine. We ought to draw near to God with humility. With a sense of awe and reverence that we can only know when we abide in Christ.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 (NKJV)

When we abide in Christ, we develop an intimate relationship with Him, a close communion with Him. This close communion with Christ should cause prayer to flow naturally. This is what he says,

“Just as the leaf and the fruit will come out of the vine-branch without any conscious effort on the part of the branch, but simply because of its living union with the stem, so prayer buds, and blossoms, and fruits out of souls abiding in Jesus.”

Let us be intentional about abiding in Christ so that we can develop a deeper relationship with Him. When we do, our prayers will not be in vain. They will bud, blossom and bear fruit that will transform not only our own lives but that of others. They will bear fruit that will glorify our Heavenly Father.

Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:9 (NLT)

Reflection:

Will you be intentional about abiding in Christ?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I pray for a deep desire to have a more intimate relationship with You. Help me to always abide in You and to commune with You. I pray that my prayers will bear fruit that will glorify You. In Jesus’ name, amen.